USS NASSAU (April 28,2003) —
The
"skids" of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 flew many
combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The AH1W Super Cobra and
the UH1N ("Huey") are two types of aircraft flown by HMM-263.
Both the Hueys and the Super Cobras are referred to as
"skids," as both feature skids instead of wheels for landing.

HMM-263, the Aviation Combat Element of the 24th Marine Expeditionary
Unit (Special Operations Capable), detached from the MEU during
Operation Iraqi Freedom. For the duration of the operation, the skids of
HMM-263 were reattached to their original parent command, Marine Air
Group 29, of Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. As the
MEU concluded its operations in Iraq, the skids reattached to the MEU.

Maj. Jim T. Jenkins from Boulder, Co., operations officer, HMM-263,
described what the skids did during their time in Iraq. "The Cobras
were used for Close Air Support (CAS), Armed Reconnaissance, and Convoy
Support," said Jenkins.

"The Hueys were tasked with what was called 'direct support.' They
did that for both 1st Marine Division and Task Force Tarawa
Headquarters," Jenkins said. "They performed a utility role in
which they flew various missions for the commanding general, like
command visits, visual reconnaissance, MEDEVACs, a little bit of CAS,"
Jenkins added. The general that put the Hueys to work was Brigadier Gen.
Richard F. Natonski, commanding general, Task Force Tarawa.

The skids exchanged fire with targets while serving in Iraq.

"On the 3rd of April, the Cobras killed four S-60s and ZPU-4s
(anti-aircraft artillery pieces), an ammo truck, and a 20mm artillery
piece," said Jenkins. "The second day was when the (2nd Marine
Division) was getting into the outskirts of Baghdad. There we (hit) two
artillery pieces and their ammo trucks and a tank, five S-60s, two
trucks with troops and some troops in a building," he added.
"While doing CAS for (3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Platoon), we
had another (Anti-Aircraft Artillery) piece that was shooting at a
flight..." Jenkins continued. According to Jenkins, during the
attack into Baghdad, the Cobras fired on a building and killed a single
troop armed with a rifle.

The Hueys saw action against some Armored Personnel Carriers and troops
right as they were crossing the Denalya River into Baghdad. "That
first day was outside of Al Kut and we took some artillery fire there.
There was one day with a lot of small arms fire, one day with a (Man
Portable Air Defense Shoulder Fired Surface to Air Missile) shot, and
there was one day with anti-aircraft artillery," said Jenkins.

Not all of the shots fired at the skids missed. While none of the skids
were shot down, one came a little closer to that fate than the rest.
"We had one Cobra get hit with some small arms fire. It was (Capt.
Olin M. Cannon's) airplane and he got a round through the tail rotor
drive shaft," said Jenkins. "They actually fixed him right at
the Forward Arming and Refueling Position. There was a Cobra there (from
another unit) that was shot up a lot worse so they took the drive shaft
from it and put it on Capt. Cannon's bird so he flew on that day,"
added Jenkins. "He didn't know his bird had been hit until he got
to the
FARP.
He took a look and saw he'd been hit. It just went through
the metal of the shaft and the shaft didn't break so it wasn't a big
deal. If the shaft had broken he'd have had to shut the bird down and
auto rotate down to the ground right where he was. It could have been
very bad if it'd caused the drive shaft to break," he continued.

HMM-263 had already been away from their home base for seven months when
they were called to serve in Iraq. During the time that they had spent
attached to the 24th MEU prior to the operation, the aircraft of the
squadron were flown more often than normal. The more the aircraft are
flown the more important the maintenance personnel of the squadron
become due to the amount of normal stress placed on the aircraft.

"Maintenance-wise, once we found out we were going in, the
maintenance guys did a great job. We wound up with five out of six
Cobras and both Hueys in country. The one Cobra that couldn't make was
waiting on parts. The maintainers did a great job. Once they found out
it was a real fight and they had to get the birds up, they had them
ready to go," said Jenkins.

HMM-263 is now, once again, the Aviation Combat Element of the 24th MEU
(SOC). The pilots and support personnel will soon begin their overdue
return to the United States with a few more stories to tell.